People are remembering John McCain's concession speech as an example of losing gracefully

Even 2018 seems like a millennium ago – never mind 2008 – but people are reminiscing about Barack Obama's first presidential win.

With a Biden victory in sight, the concession speech from the former president's opponent, John McCain, is making the rounds on social media as an example of how to lose an election gracefully – something that Trump is probably unlikely to do.

In his speech, McCain tells the Republican crowd that he has called to congratulate Barack Obama, but cuts himself off and settles his supporters down when they start booing. It's a far cry from the "lock her up" chants that have permeated Trump's rallies.

People shared the video and noted that by comparison, America today is “unrecognisable”.

Even for those who didn’t agree with his policies, conceded that McCain gave a commendable speech.

Meanwhile, other parts of his speech also feel like they haven’t aged particularly well:

A century ago, president Theodore Roosevelt’s invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry of that time.

McCain’s plea for unity also rings differently in what is an extremely divided country:

Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences and he has prevailed. No doubt, many of those differences remain.

These are difficult times for our country and I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face. I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences, and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans, and please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that. 

Notably, McCain was the senator of Arizona, a state that may have cost Trump the election.